Quaranteam - AU Ch. 02

"Well, as it turns out, I was never discharged from the military, Major. I was instead put on extended medical leave while I recovered. The promotion was decided by Brigadier Davis, so you really have no say in it. As for my clearances, they were maintained since I was still teaching SERE training courses remotely."

"You can't have recovered enough to pass evaluations! That's impossible! That injury should have totally ended your career. Permanently!"

"In point of fact, I have not only passed equivalents for my fitness evals, I have exceeded the eval requirements to be fully reinstated within the SAS. I will obviously not be doing that at this time."

Jaxson's face was growing redder and redder with each passing moment, and clearly, he couldn't control himself anymore, because he exploded. "You were supposed to have been given the boot! Mummy promised me you were gone! I've been sending the reports to the Americans, I've been protecting us from invasion by them! So, I'm the one who's supposed to get promoted, not you! I was the one talking to them about the vaccine! This is unacceptable!"

The silence in the room was deafening, and Tiberius was completely gobsmacked. Was this fully grown man throwing a tantrum? In front of all of his peers? And on top of that, outing himself in the process?

"So, Major Connors. Would you like to explain why you have been sending falsified reports to the US about our survival rates? Especially considering they were going out under Major General Walters' name? And explain what you mean by protecting us from invasion?"

Connors face was so red by this point that everyone in the room thought he might have an aneurysm. He got up from his seat violently and it crashed backwards into the wall. He began stomping his way towards the front of the room, shouting like a madman.

"I don't have to explain myself to you! My mother was always demanding explanations too! She was a world class bitch, and now that she's out of the way, I don't have to explain myself to anyone anymore! I did what was necessary to stop us from getting invaded by a foreign power! I even organized things to get us the vaccine early! It's not my fault those worthless assholes failed! I should be praised for trying, not accused of stupid things like false reporting. How is it that you get promoted for doing nothing! For once, I know you got it wrong, mummy. I should have shot him through the spine and not the leg. At least then I'd have been certain you were out!"

The entire room froze. Even Tiberius couldn't find words to express his shock. After all the reports and other rigamarole that had gone into obfuscating the issue in the first place, this idiot had come out and admitted it. But Tiberius had also alerted to something else in the man's words and behaviours. He was coming unglued.

In the silence, it was the Brigadier that found his voice first. "Major Connors, are you saying that you deliberately injured your fellow soldier during a critical operation? That you deliberately attacked him with the express intent of ending his career? And that you organized to abduct an individual from an ally? You had no authority for that!"

"Why wouldn't I? There was no other way to get him out of the way without killing him! He was an obstacle, and so I removed him! Only obviously it wasn't enough. Clearly not enough. And who cares about the scientists now? Only one was even with an ally. Now we're getting what we need! Isn't that what matters?"

Tiberius exchanged a glance with Baz before his gaze flicked up to the surveillance camera in the corner. They might be able to sort out the drama with the Americans sooner than they'd anticipated, but right now there were more pressing issues.

"It's a problem because you had no authority to order that action! How did you even send them orders they'd accept?"

"I used Doug Walters' name, of course. Those guys were still overseas. They had no idea he was actually dead. I had Damian's unit go after Adam McCallister. They tracked him to Russia, but they had no good way of getting to him. As for Kerry, the guy he was after had less security. It was a simple snatch and grab. It should have been ten minutes in and out."

"You can't be that stupid Connors. What did you think would happen if you tried to take one of the project leads for the vaccine effort? Do you think they'd just have him walking around unguarded? On top of that, you sent valuable assets against an ally. Even if it wasn't an ally, they had no support available if the op went tits-up. They could have ended up dead and they'd never know they were being misled. You would have started a gods-damned war!"

"Fucking get over it! They're just hunting dogs anyway. They do what they're told. But like the stupid mongrels they are, they fucked it up!" Spittle was flying from Connors mouth as he screamed, eyes wild with fury and...something else.

Tiberius bristled. One of those so-called 'mongrels' was his little brother, but he ignored the comment. "You think they wouldn't get as much intel on who made the attempt as possible? You've brought down a complete shitstorm on our heads, and nearly cost us access to the vaccine. You didn't have the authority; you abused the name of a ranking officer; a deceased ranking officer, in a time of crisis; and you may have very well fucked us completely. I can only assume Grace and some of the other American officers insisted to their brass that the op was unsanctioned, or I doubt I'd have received any info about their solution."

"Fuck off! It's always you! Why? Why you? You swinging that dick around? Making friends?" His gaze flickered off to one side for an instant. "Shut up! Shut up! I know!" Now, those eyes were even more bloodshot than an instant ago; framed in a face that was twisted in rage. Connors' breathing had become very erratic now. "You're wrong! I was doing it for the country! I should be a hero!"

As he continued to stomp towards Tiberius, he became certain. There were clear signs of a psychotic break in his movements and actions. This was a trained operative, but even the best can crack with the right stressor. Before the situation could devolve further, Ty tried to placate the man, but he wasn't about to call him crazy directly.

"Connors. You need to sit down. You might be having a panic attack. Take a deep breath and try to focus on something else."

"Don't you fucking tell me what to do! Nobody can tell me what to do anymore! I'm in charge!" His gaze flickered over to the side again. "Shut up mum! You went and got sick all by yourself, it's not my fault!" That same gaze, even more manic now, returned to focus on Tiberius. "And you - you just had to come back, didn't you? You just had to get in the fucking way!"

He was almost within a meter of Tiberius at this point and clearly not in his right mind. His hand reached into his uniform pocket, and Ty tensed. There was no way he could fit a gun in there, but that didn't preclude a folding knife or something equally deadly.

"Stay where you are, Major. That's an order. Do you understand me? That is an order!" Baz's shout, for his good intentions, may have been the final straw, because Jaxson Connors lunged.

Connors' hand came out of his uniform and Tiberius realized in the fraction of a second he had that the situation might be worse than a knife. He was too close to dodge, so he grabbed for Connors' wrist, but the man's movements had become far too erratic. Ty missed, and the other officer barrelled into his chest, plunging the syringe he'd pulled out into Tiberius' pectoral muscle before he could swing a fist up in reaction. That fist landed a blow on Connors' chin that had him staggering backwards before the second strike hit his temple, felling him. Ty grabbed at the syringe, dismayed to see that the plunger was nearly fully depressed, having deposited whatever was in it into his body. He had a sneaking suspicion, and the thought sent a chill down his spine.

"Leave him and get everyone out of this room! Now! Get a medical team suited up and here with an additional suit for me and Connors. Make sure they bring a biohazard container too! We need to know what was in that syringe. While that's happening, I will suit us up and take the two of us into the quarantine lab. No risks. Go!"

Tiberius whispered a prayer of thanks for military professionalism as everyone in the room sprang into action. He asked someone to bring him a set of cuffs, and one of the Military Police members in the room threw him his set, along with the key. He wasted no time cuffing Connors to the conference table, only pausing long enough to ensure the man was still breathing. Slumping into a chair, Ty pulled out his tablet and prayed that Grace and company weren't flying over a dead spot.

Grace's face appeared on the Tablet as the call connected. "Ty? We'll have to talk fast. We're not going to have a signal for long."

"Figured. Ok. Here's the long and short. I can confirm the attempted abduction was an unauthorized op. The officer responsible was using a deceased senior officer's name to send orders. In exposing him, he snapped, and I've been exposed to what I suspect is DuoHalo, but unsure as yet. Unknown if variant strain or otherwise. Going into quarantine as soon as bio suits arrive for me to get to the lab. We have the video footage of the event for your brass."

"Oh God. You might be infected? Understood." There was a sharp intake of breath and Grace paused, looking over at the source. "Ty, I should probably let you know. Major Talia Becker of the IDF is with us. She's uh...here for you."

"I was informed. Let Talia know what's happening. I'll have one of the Valiant sisters keep you updated if I can't. I have a bad feeling about this."

"DuoHalo doesn't kick in anything like that fast, Ty. You should have at least a week before you even see any symptoms, so you should be ok. Our ETA is around 10 hours. See you then."

Ty just stared at the blank tablet screen for a few minutes after the call ended. It was too much, too fast already, and now this. He hadn't collapsed immediately, so it wasn't a fast-acting toxin or something of that variety. If it was just a standard strain of DuoHalo, that would be annoying, but survivable, given the incubation time. But if Connors, damn him, had gotten his hands on one of the more dangerous variants, there was no telling.

That was the worst part; not knowing. Ty wanted to bury his face in his hands and scream. He was doing his best. There was so much information; so much to do. So much planning that needed done. Others would help, of course. He wasn't alone. He wasn't alone, but he was feeling overwhelmed.

It wasn't long before the medics arrived and they were escorted to the quarantine lab, with Connors ending up handcuffed to the bed. They did a blood draw on Ty and retreated, leaving him alone with the unconscious man. He wanted to pace the room, but knowing that would be of no help, he focused back on his tablet, trying not to let his frustration overcome him. There was no sense in wasting time, so he began planning the rollout effort. He let the hours flow over him and was trying not to let himself fall into the trap of panicking when it felt like his breathing was beginning to become laboured when Lottie's voice came through the speaker overhead, clearly sounding flustered.

"Ty?"

"What's wrong Lottie?"

"Ty, we know what was in that syringe. It..."

"Out with it Charlotte. I'm not dead yet, so how bad could it be?"

"It was DuoHalo, Ty. But this...this is a man-made variant, and it's even more monstrous than the original. It has no incubation period, so it has almost no transmissibility. Symptoms will start to show up around four to six hours after exposure and the effects...accelerate...from there. 24 hours after exposure and organs are supposed to start failing..." The quiver in her voice strongly. "Ty, are you ok? The lab techs are saying you have to be feeling it by now."

This time, Ty was sure the bottom dropped out of his stomach. That tightness in his chest wasn't his imagination and he fought to keep the dismay from his expression.

"Fuuuck." He couldn't tell Lottie the truth. Despite her usual calm, she was the worrier of the sisters. "I'm OK, Lottie. Just take a deep breath. I'm gonna be ok, alright? Grace and her team are on their way. Look at me, Lottie." She met his gaze through the glass and Ty could see the tears in her eyes. "Lottie, babe, it hasn't started to hit me yet, so we're ok. You hear me? It's gonna be fine."

Lottie looked at him, and for once, she couldn't smile. This was the problem with being too close; the twins always knew when Ty was lying. She choked back a sob and nodded.

"Just a few more hours, Lots." Ty almost never called either twin by his personal pet name for them. At their age it felt almost too childish, but right now he needed her attention. "It's gonna be ok, darling. I promise I'll hit the alarm if things get bad, so I want you to go and stay beside Lets."

She nodded at him, no longer able to form words. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ty cut her off.

"Don't say it. It'll be fine. Go."

She turned and fled, and Ty slumped to the floor, head in his hands. His breathing wasn't too laboured just yet, but now that he was conscious of it, the fear was beginning to set in. He wanted to scream, to yell, to get up and put a bullet between Connors' eyes for this, but none of those things would help him, and at this point, he doubted they'd even make him feel better emotionally. It was just too much.

"You're going to die, you son of a bitch. Nobody will be able to help you in time. I had that strain modified for this. You're a dead man, and then I'll make it all your fault." The voice was filled with scorn but was heavily slurred.

Tiberius didn't move from the spot, but he raised his head to meet Connors' gaze and couldn't stop his own vitriol. "So, the worthless mummy's boy is awake. I can't bring myself to treat you like a grown man after your previous display, so did the baby enjoy his nap? Shall we call mummy to come give you some milk?"

"Shut up! Don't talk about mummy! She's not here!"

"Oh, I know. You weren't quite as stupid when she was. Which is why you'd have known that I'm not going to die. The Americans have been on their way for over 10 hours already. Barely another half a day and I'll be clear of this virus, and you'll be subject to an inquiry and then tribunal. Your timeline was too long, you prick. Once again Connors, I win."

Jaxson flew into a rage and started screaming incoherently. Tiberius knew it was wrong of him to provoke the already unstable man. He'd worked it out by that point. Wendy Connors had clearly succumbed to DuoHalo or some other illness and the loss had sent her son over the edge. Though there had to be other stressors, those would likely come to light during the investigations. Ty knew he should feel bad about driving the man into his madness, but there was no sympathy in him. Connors' actions could have doomed them, and it was only luck that had said otherwise.

It wasn't even a minute before the medics re-entered the room frowning at Tiberius and sedating Connors before transporting him, bed and all, into a different room. Though they told Tiberius that it was probably better for him to be moved to a different lab too, he chose to stay. What was another couple of hours in the grand scheme of it all? He couldn't torment Connors anymore; there was no point. He simply had to wait until Grace arrived. He could do that just as well from here as anywhere else.

Though, it would have been nice if the coughing and bloody nose hadn't arrived first.

-

Just off the East Coast of Australia - October 21, 2020 - 11:05 PM AEDT

--

Talia Becker had gotten no rest since Grace's last contact with Tiberius. Not that she'd tried. Learning that Ty had been exposed to something had set her on edge, but it was the message that had managed to arrive a few hours later that had her truly worried. Even though she knew they'd arrive in time to help him, she couldn't help it; she wasn't there now. After everything else, she couldn't afford to lose him.

Tiberius had swept into her life relatively early in her career, in 2017, and the maelstrom the Australian had left in his wake had left her reeling. Her father appeared one morning at their training grounds, smiling, and simply told them that they were about to embark on a survival exercise over the next seven days. Talia's unit was to hunt down and capture Tiberius, who would evade, and in return attempt to 'kill' his hunters. Talia thought it would be a simple task.

It took all of three days.

In just a mere three days, every member of the unit found themselves back at base, 'killed', and to a man or woman, had never actually seen their adversary until it was too late. He appeared again as they were gathered in a training classroom and began to explain where each member had gone wrong and why they had failed. Talia never even had the opportunity to look at his face before she'd been killed, late on the second day. He had simply melted back into the environment after his training knife had appeared across her throat.

For the first time she could recall since joining the IDF, Talia was interested in a man. It wasn't an attraction. Not exactly. Not then. Curiosity, perhaps. He showed up at Talia's dinner table that night, a guest of her father. The easy-going demeanour, even in the presence of her father, was utterly foreign to her. Even her mother, usually quiet and withdrawn among her father's guests, was smiling and telling stories. A sort of charm, she'd supposed. A natural charisma that drew people in and made them feel comfortable. She looked at him again and it clicked. He was like an oversized teddy bear. Large, occasionally imposing, but ultimately a comforting presence. The only comforting male presence aside from her father, she realized.

Until that point, the men in Talia's life, aside from her father, had come in two varieties; those openly attempting to get close to her to use her father's influence, and those who were lying. Every single one had been repulsive; if not physically, then mentally. She wasn't simply a means to an end to them; she was just a trinket to acquire on the path. To them, she didn't matter, and that infuriated her. She rarely dated men as a result, spending her time with her female cohorts. It had gotten to the point where she almost believed she couldn't be attracted to a man and was trying to figure out how to explain that to her parents, when Ty's appearance made her reevaluate herself once again. Even though he was eight years senior to her then age of 24, Tiberius had never made her feel insignificant or unimportant. When they spent time together, she felt like was the centre of his universe. He wasn't overbearing and he never pushed her for intimacy. She realized it when Ty escorted her during her parent's 40th anniversary party a year later; it wasn't that she couldn't date men; it just had to be the right man. She had asked her father if he would be open to that idea, and he had seemed thrilled. Then they had learned of Tiberius' injury, and her father had asked her to wait until he was healed.

Talia was furious. She believed her father was acting the same way towards Tiberius as all the suitors had with her; interested in Ty until he was no longer useful. But Ezekiel denied that instantly. It wasn't that her father was reluctant to have a potentially crippled man as her husband, but that he wanted Tiberius to be able to recuperate without the added pressure of a long distance, potentially political relationship. Zeke actually kept in constant contact with the younger man and admitted to Talia that both he and her mother already loved the man like a son. Zeke had planned to ask him to visit Israel again at the start of 2020, when COVID had slowed travel and then DuoHalo had shut the world down entirely. Now, when Talia finally had a chance to be with him, the man she wanted more than anything was in danger of dying. She couldn't help herself and paced up and down the aisle of the plane.